Listen

"Therefore, don’t worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Think

One of the best antidotes to worry is to appreciate God’s goodness. Jesus gives us the absolute best antidote in today’s passage – seek God’s Kingdom in everything we do. But what does that mean?

Time and time again, God’s word tells us what the Kingdom is like. It is where the forgotten are noticed and the hungry are fed. It is where justice, mercy, forgiveness, and love are.

So to seek God’s Kingdom, we forgive and ask for forgiveness, show mercy, work for justice, and always love. We find ways to notice the forgotten and feed the hungry. We serve others, and we do it to glorify God.

It has happened that when I serve others, I find answers to problems that were worrying me. But even when answers do not come easily, the worries fade. For when I meet Jesus in those I serve, I find there is little room left to worry – my heart and mind are filled with other things, and I am focused on God.